Ahmedabad: The GST Council wants to rely more on technology than officer-led intervention to prevent fake invoices and fraudulent input tax credit (ITC) claims, said Sanjay Mangal, member (GST), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Thursday.

“The aim is to prevent fake invoices and fraudulent ITC from being generated in the first place, rather than relying on investigations and arrests after the fraud has occurred. Proposed changes to the return-filing mechanism would require taxpayers to pay the tax declared as payable when the corresponding credit is passed on to recipients,” Mangal told media persons.

He was present in Ahmedabad for a programme, “Key Outcomes of the 57th GST Council Meeting’, organised by the CGST Ahmedabad Zone.

Amendments to the GST Act may be taken up during Parliament’s winter session, Mangal said. “The reforms related to registration and refunds, including automated processing and sanction of refunds, are expected to be implemented from Nov 1. We are trying to ensure that this is done at the earliest. It is likely that the decisions that require amendment in the Act will be taken during the winter session of Parliament,” he said.

On rate rationalisation, Mangal said the 56th meeting, held in Sept 2025, focused on rate-related reforms. Several decisions were taken to rationalise and restructure rates and reduce taxes on around 400 items.

“The 57th meeting instead focused on process and structural reforms, which had not been taken up at the previous meeting. Rates were not considered, and a separate meeting will be held to discuss them. The date has not yet been decided,” he said.

Source: Time of India